Thunder Rumors

Southeast Notes: Young, Hornets, Magic, K. Johnson

June 6th, 2025 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

A native of Norman, Oklahoma who played his college ball for the Sooners, Trae Young has some affinity for the local NBA team. However, while the Hawks guard will be rooting for the Thunder in the NBA Finals, he tells Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that seeing Oklahoma City make a serious run at a title really just makes him more determined to take his own team to those same heights.

“It’s even more motivating for me,” Young said on Wednesday at a sponsor event. “I want to win a championship bad. But the fact that it’s in my city and I’m just watching it now, if you thought I wanted it bad before, it’s even worse now. … Hopefully we’re here playing the Thunder next year, and I’m not having this (event) here in OKC. So, we have this party there in Atlanta. I love Atlanta.”

The Hawks have missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and haven’t won more than 43 games in a season since Young was drafted in 2018, but the star guard remains optimistic about the franchise’s direction.

“We had the No. 1 pick (Zaccharie Risacher) last year that made strides and almost won Rookie of the Year, got second,” Young said. “We have a lot of young, young, really good players. We have a great coach. We have a lot of stuff, and we have a big summer ahead, for sure.”

We have more from around the Southeast:

Dylan Cardwell (Auburn), Steven Crowl (Wisconsin), Chucky Hepburn (Louisville), and Jalon Moore (Oklahoma) visited the Hornets for a pre-draft workout earlier this week, while Obinna Anochili-Killen (Marshall), Eric Dixon (Villanova), Kobe Johnson (UCLA), and Julian Reese (Maryland) auditioned for the team on Thursday, reports Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter links). Charlotte controls the fourth, 33rd, and 34th overall picks in this year’s draft. Among those prospects, Dixon is the highest-rated on ESPN’s big board at No. 45.
Keith Smith of Spotrac and Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) both previewed the Magic‘s offseason this week, discussing Paolo Banchero‘s upcoming rookie scale extension, looking at Orlando’s rising payroll, and considering how the team might use its multiple first-round picks (No. 16 and No. 25) in this year’s draft.
Although he played limited minutes in just 16 NBA games as a rookie in 2024/25, Heat forward Keshad Johnson feels he has “grown mentally” since entering the league, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “I’ve learned a lot about basketball, Xs and Os,” said Johnson, who played well for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League. “Just being in the NBA, at first it started off fast. But it started to slow down as time got going. Just getting comfortable. Skill-wise, I feel like the mental aspect of learning cheat codes and things like that.” The Heat hold a minimum-salary team option on Johnson for the 2025/26 season and must exercise or decline that option by June 29.

NBA Finals Notes: Game 1, Haliburton, Carlisle, Nembhard, Presentation

June 6th, 2025 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers continue to defy the odds in these NBA playoffs, pulling off an improbable fourth-quarter comeback for a fourth consecutive series and a second straight Game 1. Indiana didn’t hold a lead on Thursday in Oklahoma City until Tyrese Haliburton made a jumper that put the team up 111-110 with 0.3 seconds left on the game clock. It was the fourth time during the 2025 postseason that Haliburton has converted a game-winning or game-tying shot with less than five seconds remaining, notes Jamal Collier of ESPN.

“I don’t know what you say about it, but I know that this group is a resilient group,” Haliburton said. “And we don’t give up until it’s 0.0 on the clock.”

The Pacers turned the ball over 24 times and attempted just 82 field goals and 21 free throws on the night, compared to six turnovers, 98 field goal attempts, and 24 free throws for the Thunder. But a strong shooting performance that included a 46.2% mark from beyond the arc (18-of-39) kept Indiana within striking distance.

Haliburton didn’t play a major part in the Pacers’ three-point success, scoring just 14 points and knocking down 2-of-7 shots from long range. However, his teammates had full trust in their point guard when he raced up the court with the ball in his hands during that final possession.

“I swear as soon as he jumped up to shoot, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s good,'” Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith said, according to Collier. “Every time it’s in his hands in those situations, I just think it’s good.”

“(He has) ultimate, ultimate confidence in himself,” center Myles Turner added, per Grant Afseth of Hardwood Heroics. “Some players will say they have it but there’s other players that show it, and he’s going to let you know about it, too. That’s one of the things I respect about him. He’s a baller and a hooper and really just a gamer. When it comes to the moments, he wants the ball. He wants to be the one to hit that shot. He doesn’t shy away from the moment, and it is very important this time of the year to have a go-to guy. He just keeps finding a way, and we keep putting the ball in the right positions, and the rest is history.”

Here’s more on the NBA Finals in the wake of a thrilling first game:

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who has spent 23 seasons as an NBA coach and won a title in 2011 in Dallas, said on Thursday that he has a special appreciation for this Pacers team, as Afseth relays. “It’s a group I love,” Carlisle said. “It’s a group that we’ve invested a lot in — in how we were going to draft, who we were going to draft, and development. From a coaching perspective, I’m proud of this year because not only did we win enough games to get into the top four, but we are still developing players.”
The Game 1 loss was similar to the Thunder’s other home loss during these playoffs, when they let a 13-point fourth quarter lead slip away in Game 3 of the conference semifinals vs. Denver, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The Thunder came back in that series after falling behind 2-1 as a result of that home loss, so while they were disappointed by Thursday’s outcome, they’re confident in their ability to bounce back. “It sucks, but we have been here before,” Jalen Williams said, while head coach Mark Daigneault added, “We would’ve liked to win tonight, but tonight was a starting point, not an end point.” As MacMahon writes, Oklahoma City is 4-0 after losses during these playoffs, with an average margin of victory of 20.5 points per game.
With Isaiah Hartenstein removed from the starting lineup and limited to just 17 minutes of action, the Thunder were out-rebounded 56-39 by one of the league’s worst rebounding teams. “Some of it is the cost of doing business,” Daigneault said of sticking with a smaller lineup, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “To be able to get perimeter speed on the court, get more switching in the game. It’s obviously something that is a tradeoff. I thought the small lineup at the end of the first half looked pretty good. That’s why I went back to it down the stretch. When we’re small, we have to be pressure-oriented and contain the ball. I thought they got some cracks against us that hurt us a little bit more than the post-ups did.”
While Haliburton was the Game 1 hero, Andrew Nembhard deserves a lot of credit for helping the Pacers stay in the game and complete their comeback, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. In addition to hitting a big three-pointer in the game’s final minutes, Nembhard served as the primary defender on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 38 points but needed 30 shots to do it. “If there wasn’t the 65-game rule, he’s an All-Defensive guy, plain and simple,” Haliburton said of Nembhard. “We have the most trust in him. Shai is the hardest guard in the NBA. He’s the hardest guy to cover one-on-one in the NBA. So there’s no one look we can give him that is going to work every time. We trust Drew in those situations.”
Amid myriad complaints on social media that Game 1 of the NBA Finals felt like just another regular season contest, Dan Shanoff of The Athletic offers three suggestions that the NBA and ABC could make for the rest of the series to improve the presentation, including putting the Finals logo on the court and showing the in-arena starting lineup introductions on the TV broadcast.

Thunder Change Starting Lineup For NBA Finals Opener

June 5th, 2025 at 7:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder are unveiling a different starting lineup as the NBA Finals get underway tonight, according to OKC beat writer Rylan Stiles. Coach Mark Daigneault is opting for a smaller look, with second-year guard Cason Wallace replacing center Isaiah Hartenstein.

Wallace, a defensive standout, will give Oklahoma City one more weapon to slow the speedy Pacers, who like to wear down opponents by pushing the ball up court throughout the game. Wallace is better equipped than Hartenstein to handle that style of play.

Hartenstein had been a starter for the Thunder in the first 16 games of this year’s playoffs, averaging 9.2 points and 7.9 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per night. He was signed as a free agent last summer to give OKC a larger presence inside and prevent the team from being badly outrebounded like it was against Dallas in last year’s playoffs.

Stiles notes that Daigneault has been relying on a double-big starting lineup with Chet Holmgren alongside Hartenstein. However, he moved away from it quickly in the conference finals against Minnesota, replacing Hartenstein early in games with either Wallace or Alex Caruso.

As Law Murray of The Athletic tweets, the Pacers got off to fast starts against the Thunder in their two regular season meetings and outscored OKC while Hartenstein was on the floor.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort will join Wallace and Holmgren in the starting lineup.

Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Haliburton, Canadians

June 5th, 2025 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

Aaron Nesmith didn’t miss any games after spraining his right ankle in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. New York, but playing through the injury wasn’t easy, according to the Pacers wing, who was limited to 16 minutes in Game 5 and just under 20 in Game 6, his two lowest totals of the postseason (he also had some foul trouble in Game 6).

“It took a lot (to return for Game 4),” Nesmith said on Wednesday, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “It was pretty much rehab every minute of that day. It was cold tub, game-ready, hyperbaric chambers, it was red light therapy. It was manual wave, it was shock wave. Anything you could name we kinda threw it at the ankle, but there was no chance I was missing that game.”

Although the Pacers haven’t had as much rest between the conference finals and the start of the NBA Finals as the Thunder, Indiana still had four full days off prior to Thursday’s Game 1. Few Pacers appreciated those off-days more than Nesmith.

“I needed ’em,” he said. “I was looking forward to these days off. I took ’em, and I’ll be ready.”

Here’s more on the Pacers:

Given the challenges the NBA has faced over the years trying to find a way to stop teams from tanking, the league should be rejoicing that Indiana has made it to this year’s NBA Finals, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. As Lloyd details, team owner Herb Simon has long had an aversion to tanking, so the Pacers have never really done it — the club was stuck in the middle at times, but has won fewer than 32 games in a season just once in the past 35 years.
Following an on-court altercation with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at the end of the Pacers’ first-round series win, Tyrese Haliburton‘s father John Haliburton was effectively banned from attending games. However, that ban was lifted for Pacers home games midway through the Eastern Conference Finals as long as the elder Haliburton watched from a suite. For the NBA Finals, he won’t be prohibited from attending games at either arena, Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. “I think the commentary around my dad got a little ridiculous,” Tyrese said. “Of course, I’m going to say that. I’m his son. It got a little over the top. He was wrong. That is what it is. I don’t think any of us want to be defined by our worst moments. That’s just sports media. Sometimes we just take a super good thing or a super bad thing and overblow it. It is what it is. He’s learned from it. It won’t happen again. Love my pops dearly. Really thankful he’s going to be in the building along with me on this journey.”
Both teams competing in the NBA Finals have multiple Canadians on their rosters, with Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin representing the Pacers and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort competing for the Thunder. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes a look at the shared history among those players, three of whom represented Canada in last year’s Olympics, while Julian McKenzie of The Athletic specifically examines the bond between Montreal natives Mathurin and Dort, who grew up minutes from one another and each describes the other as being like “a brother.”

Poll: Who Will Win 2025 NBA Finals?

June 5th, 2025 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

The 2025 NBA Finals will tip off on Thursday, as the Thunder host the Pacers for Game 1 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

For all the hand-wringing leading up to the series about market size and TV ratings, this year’s Finals matchup features two highly entertaining teams led by All-NBA point guards who have established themselves as NBA superstars.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this season’s Most Valuable Player, leads the way for the Thunder, who submitted one of the most dominant regular season performances in NBA history in 2024/25. Only four teams have compiled more wins in a single season than Oklahoma City’s 68 in ’24/25, and the Thunder’s +12.7 net rating ranks second all-time, behind only the 1995/96 Bulls.

While Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the NBA with 32.7 points per game, is the engine of an offense that ranked third in the NBA this season, he gets plenty of help from a strong supporting cast. Jalen Williams (21.6 PPG) and Chet Holmgren (15.0 PPG) headline the group of six more Thunder players who averaged double-digit points per game this year, along with Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Hartenstein, Isaiah Joe, and Luguentz Dort.

Many of those same players, with the help of reserves like Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace, were responsible for making the Thunder’s defense the NBA’s best by a comfortable margin. The gap between Oklahoma City’s league-leading 106.6 defensive rating and Orlando’s 109.1 second-place mark was bigger than the gap between the Magic and the seventh-place Warriors (111.0).

Dort and Williams both earned All-Defensive spots and Caruso and/or Wallace would’ve been legitimate candidates to join them if they’d played enough minutes to qualify for consideration.

The Thunder had the league’s lowest turnover percentage (11.6%) and generated the highest opponent turnover percentage (16.9%), resulting in a ton of transition opportunities and a significant edge in the possession battle. Oklahoma City’s average of 92.1 field goal attempts per game was easily the top mark in the NBA, well ahead of second-place Milwaukee (87.8). The Thunder also ranked in the top five in free throw attempts per game.

While the Thunder’s formula will be tough to crack, the Pacers have been one of the NBA’s best teams in their own right since January 1. After a shaky start to the season, Indiana caught fire in 2025, finishing the season on a 34-14 run and then going 12-4 in the first three rounds of the postseason.

Led by All-NBA third-teamer Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana – like Oklahoma City – was one of the league’s best teams at moving and taking care of the ball despite playing an up-tempo style. From January 1 onward, no team had a better assist-to-turnover ratio than the Pacers’ 2.44-to-1 mark, and only the Thunder had a lower turnover rate than Indiana’s 12.2%.

Although Haliburton leads the Pacers’ offensive attack, he’s not the scorer Gilgeous-Alexander is, having averaged a relatively modest 18.6 PPG during the regular season. It was actually star forward Pascal Siakam who led the team in scoring during the regular season (20.2 PPG) and has done so again in the playoffs (21.1 PPG).

But the club has a deep, balanced offense that also features contributions from Bennedict Mathurin (16.1 PPG during the regular season), Myles Turner (15.6 PPG), Aaron Nesmith (12.0 PPG), Obi Toppin (10.5 PPG), Andrew Nembhard (10.0 PPG), and T.J. McConnell (9.1 PPG).

While the game typically slows down in the playoffs, the Thunder and Pacers have continued to play fast well into the spring — only the Grizzlies, who faced Oklahoma City in the first round, rank ahead of Oklahoma City and Indiana in postseason pace.

Given those numbers, the Pacers will need to do all they can to keep the Thunder from dominating the boards. Indiana ranked 28th in the NBA in rebounding rate during the regular season, including 29th in offensive rebounding rate. With the two teams likely to be racing up and down the court and the Thunder’s ability to generate turnovers typically giving them the possession edge, getting consistently out-rebounded would compound that issue for the Pacers.

Whichever franchise wins the series won’t technically be getting its first title. The Pacers won three ABA championships in the 1970s and the Thunder claimed an NBA title back in 1979 as the Seattle SuperSonics, long before relocating to Oklahoma City. But fans in Indiana and Oklahoma City haven’t seen their respective teams win an NBA Finals.

With Game 1 set to tip off in less than 12 hours, we want to know what you think. Will the heavily favored Thunder make it a quick series? Will it go to six or seven games? Can the Pacers pull off the upset?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to weigh in with your predictions!

NBA Finals Notes: Pacers, OKC, CBA, Sonics, Wallace

June 4th, 2025 at 11:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Thunder and Pacers, this year’s NBA Finals squads, have provided a new roadmap for winning teams in the league, writes Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports.

O’Connor argues that the three-and-D role player may not be enough anymore for the highest levels of basketball. As perhaps a next evolutionary step, both of these thoroughly modern clubs have built rosters loaded with handling ability and fast decision-making among role players — in addition to the long range shooting and defense. O’Connor opines that Boston employed that formula to win it all last spring as well.

O’Connor notes that most of Oklahoma City’s top players have the ability to dribble, move the ball expediently, shoot at a high level, and defend. Even Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein, though not a long range shooter, is a solid distributor from the post. O’Connor observes that all of the Pacers’ top players are similarly equipped to thrive on both sides of the ball with versatile skill sets.

There’s more from the NBA Finals:

At 24.7 years old, the Thunder have the youngest average age of any Finals team since 1977, notes Lev Akabas of Sportico (subscriber link). The Pacers’ average age of 26.2 years old would make Indiana the youngest for a champ since 1980 if the club beat Oklahoma City. Akabas adds that 2025 marks the first time since the introduction of the league’s luxury tax that neither NBA Finals participant has been a taxpayer. Indiana’s $169.1MM team payroll ranked 18th in the league this year, and was below the $170.8MM tax threshold. Oklahoma City’s $165.6MM payroll ranked just 25th. The two teams’ youth is a feature, not a bug, as both boast multiple young talents — including 2022 lottery picks Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Bennedict Mathurin — still on their rookie-scale contracts, making their deals all extremely valuable in the league’s punitive CBA.
Devout fans of the now-defunct Seattle SuperSonics are all-in on the Pacers in this year’s Finals, writes Andrew Destin of The Associated Press. Under then-new owner Clay Bennett, the SuperSonics abandoned Seattle for Oklahoma City in 2008, and rebranded themselves as the Thunder. “A lot of Sonics fans that I know I’m sure never got over the wounds of what happened here 17 years ago with them leaving (for) Oklahoma City,” SuperSonics fan Eric Phan said. “All of the Sonics fanbase (is) rooting for the Indiana Pacers.”
While fans in Seattle may be rooting against the Thunder, OKC has emerged as the heavy favorites to win this year’s impending Finals clash, which tips off on Thursday. 29 of 32 ESPN experts have picked Oklahoma City to best Indiana.
Alongside All-Defensive wings Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso, second-year Thunder guard Cason Wallace is embracing his own role as a reserve perimeter stopper, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Although Wallace was the No. 10 pick out of Kentucky in 2023, he has accepted his current place in Oklahoma City’s hierarchy. “Being a guard and the guy your whole life and then coming in and having to be a role player, you have to change your mindset,” Wallace told Slater. “But once you come in every day and you see everybody buys into their role, you find out that being a role player isn’t bad. You can be a high-level player, but as long as you do your job, then that’s what it takes to win.”

Pacers Notes: Pierce, Haliburton, Flight, Defending SGA, Underdog Role

June 4th, 2025 at 3:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lloyd Pierce had a rough two-and-a-half seasons as a head coach with the Hawks from 2018-21. Pierce, now one of Rick Carlisle‘s top assistants with the Pacers, is hoping for another shot at being an NBA head coach, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

“I took a head coaching job and I learned a lot,” Pierce said. “I want to be able to prove to myself. More than anything, I want to propel an organization to where we are right now, the NBA Finals.

“Every competitor struggles with the day they were let go. And so, everything you do moving forward is first self-awareness, and then second it’s do what you need to do to get back in that seat and prove everybody wrong, and more importantly prove it to yourself. And I’m definitely more about proving myself, and so I’m not stressing over it. But I definitely feel like I deserve an opportunity to get back in that seat again.”

We have more on the Pacers:

Considering the team’s slow start, the Pacers made an unexpected rise to the top of the Eastern Conference. Star guard Tyrese Haliburton plans to savor his first taste of the NBA Finals, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star writes. “This is a really exciting time for me personally to have this opportunity,” Haliburton said. “This is something I’ve wanted to do my whole life. Last year, having playoff success in my first playoff run and being unsuccessful to start the season, for me I thought a lot about, wow, maybe I took last year for granted. I didn’t know what the playoffs were going to look like as the year was going on. I didn’t know if we’d be a play-in team or where we’d stack up in the end with how we were playing early in the year. I’m definitely not taking this for granted. Learning to appreciate every day and remember all these days as best as I can.”
The Pacers’ flight to Oklahoma City on Tuesday took an unexpected turn. The team’s charter flight was first diverted to Tulsa due to severe weather in Oklahoma. Then, after refueling there, the plane was re-routed around another band of weather before finally landing in Oklahoma City about three-and-a-half hours behind schedule, according to The Associated Press.
How will they defend Thunder star guard and Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated tackles that topic, speculating that Andrew Nembhard will likely serve as the point-of-attack defender. Stiles also anticipates the Pacers will attempt to clog the driving lanes as SGA works to get to his spots at the elbow, the baseline and the rim.
The Pacers are heavy underdogs to win the championship and they’re comfortable in that role, Dopirak writes. “We’ve all been doubted at some point in time of our lives,” Carlisle said. “You look in the mirror, you gotta face the doubts and you decide, how are you going to go forward? Are you going to fight through and find a way or are you going to find an excuse. Our team is a bunch of guys who have found a way in a lot of different situations.”

Northwest Notes: Wiggins, Blazers, Garland, Wolves

June 3rd, 2025 at 9:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Aaron Wiggins had to wait until the 55th pick to be selected in the 2021 draft. The Thunder offered him a two-way deal and he wasn’t necessarily thrilled at the prospect at the time, he told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.

“We’re sitting there watching the draft and there was a lot of mixed emotions,” Wiggins said. “The second round started. There were a couple [draft] spots with teams that I thought I had good workouts with and I’m expecting to possibly be drafted and don’t get drafted. Then late in the second round, I get a call from my agent saying the Thunder are drafting me and want to sign a two-way [contract]. I wasn’t necessarily upset. I was happy and grateful to be blessed, but I wasn’t happy either. So, I was just glad to have heard my name and know that I was being given an opportunity.”

Wiggins has done the most with that opportunity. He eventually had the two-way converted to a standard deal and last summer he signed a five-year, $45MM contract. He appeared in 76 regular season games, though his playing time has dropped in the postseason.

“I’m just doing the same thing I’ve done for the last couple of years,” Wiggins said. “Trust in our coaching staff. Buying into the team first and understand that success will come. I trust in that and want to win first, celebrate my teammates and everything will work its way out.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

In their latest pre-draft workout on Tuesday, the Trail Blazers looked at Cameron Hildreth (Wake Forest), Ben Gregg (Gonzaga), Jamiya Neal (Arizona State), Mohamed Diawara (Cholet), Caleb Grill (Missouri) and Damari Monsanto (UTSA), Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report tweets. Grill, ranked No. 74 on ESPN’s Best Available list, heads that group of potential second-round selections.
How can the Trail Blazers upgrade their roster? Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (subscription required) believes there are several approaches they could take. The Blazers could add another frontcourt player to give them additional size and seek an upgrade at guard if they don’t think Scoot Henderson will ever live up to his draft status. They could also target a young player with high upside on a low-cost contract, similar to what they did last season when they acquired Deni Avdija from Washington.
Darius Garland might be an ideal backcourt partner for Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune opines. Garland would be the type of combo guard who could unlock more of Edwards’ two-way potential while taking pressure off him offensively, according to Rand. Garland has three years and approximately $126.5MM remaining on his contract. The Cavaliers aren’t looking to move their starting point guard, but are said to be more open to the idea than in the past.

Pacers Notes: Finals Odds, Siakam, Turnaround, Turner

June 3rd, 2025 at 5:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The oddsmakers and bettors don’t believe the Pacers have much of a chance in the Finals against the Thunder. At BetMGM, the Pacers have +500 odds to win the championship, making them the biggest underdogs in the NBA Finals since the Cavaliers in 2018, Prince J. Grimes of the Indianapolis Star notes. The Warriors won those Finals in a sweep.

In fact, the oddsmakers believe it will be a quick series. The betting favorite for the length of the series is a 4-1 Thunder victory. Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the huge favorite to win Finals MVP at -625 odds with Tyrese Haliburton a distant second at +700.

We have more on the Pacers:

Pascal Siakam has developed into the ideal second star for the Pacers, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Koreen outlines how Siakam has expanded his game over the years, both before and since the trade that sent him from Toronto to Indiana. Siakam, named the Most Valuable Player of the Eastern Conference Finals, is averaging 21.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting a blistering 46.3 percent from long range in 16 postseason games.
Siakam was instrumental in the team’s turnaround from a 10-15 start, particularly by offering words of encouragement to Haliburton, who was struggling with his shooting at the time, as Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star details. Ramping up their pressure defense and inserting Aaron Nesmith into the starting lineup were some of the other keys to the Pacers’ dramatic rise to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Myles Turner believes the era of the “super team,” with established All-Stars banding together to win the championship, has ended. “I think it’s a new blueprint for the league,” Turner said, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “I think the years of the super teams and stacking, it’s just not as effective as it once was, you know what I mean? Since I’ve been in the league, the NBA has been very trendy; it just shifts. But the new trend now is just kind of what we’re doing. OKC does the same thing — young guys get out and run, defend and use the power of friendship.”

And-Ones: European Prospects, Extension Candidates, Dynasties

June 3rd, 2025 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

As we outlined last month when we passed along the list of prospects invited to the NBA’s draft combine, a player who is invited to the combine and declines to attend without an excused absence becomes ineligible to be drafted.

Many of the prospects who were granted excused absences from the combine in Chicago were international players whose teams were still playing. According to Erik Slater of ClutchPoints (Twitter link), the NBA is holding pre-draft activities (measurements, drills, etc.) this week in Treviso, Italy for those players whose commitments overseas prevented them from traveling to Chicago.

That group, Slater says, includes Noa Essengue (who is playing in Germany), Joan Beringer (Slovenia), Nolan Traore (France), Ben Saraf (Germany), Hugo Gonzalez (Spain), Bogoljub Markovic (Serbia), and Noah Penda (France).

It’s unclear whether all of those players will be able to attend the event in Treviso, since some of their seasons still aren’t over. Essengue and Safar, for example, both play for Ratiopharm Ulm, which is currently competing in the semifinals of the Basketball Bundesliga playoffs in Germany. Game 2 of that series will be played on Wednesday.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

While the free agent class of 2025 isn’t particularly star-studded, there will be no shortage of veteran extension candidates to monitor this offseason, as Bobby Marks details for ESPN. Marks takes an in-depth look at which players seem likely to sign new deals in the coming months, including Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, and Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., and which players are longer shots for new contracts. That latter group includes players who would benefit financially from waiting, like Lakers guard Austin Reaves, and some who are unlikely to get an offer from their current team, such as Pelicans forward Zion Williamson.
Is it bad for business that the NBA’s age of dynasties appears to be over? Tania Ganguli of The New York Times considers that topic in an in-depth story open to non-subscribers.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report proposes a complex three-team deal involving the Celtics, Mavericks, and Nets that would save Boston a projected $230MM+, fortify Dallas’ backcourt, and send a pair of draft assets to Brooklyn along with mostly expiring contracts.

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